Timber & Forestry E News Issue 313

ISSUE 313 | 14.4.14 16,000 delivered weekly to timber merchants, sawmillers, wood processors, foresters, members of national and state organisations and associations, builders, specifiers and selected architects.

Global technology centres on FRAME Conference delegates from 10 nations will stay on for trade talks in four states

The NATIONAL voice for

By JIM BOWDEN

THE biggest collection of international providers of timber engineering technology – and those that design and build with the products – will descend on a Melbourne event next month to create a new dimension for the fabrication industry.

Delegates and exhibitors from 10 nations will come together for the one-day FRAME Australia conference and exhibition at the Park Hyatt Hotel on May 19, using the opportunity to mount trade missions and visit clients in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney,

• Timber Merchants • Suppliers • Manufacturers Contact us on 1800 TABMA1

Kevin Ezard .. speakers program reveals future directions in building.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Snow and rain hamper US building industry recovery

EWP manufacturers geared for upswing THE North American engineered wood sector had adopted an attitude of “cautious optimism” over the recovery of the US housing and construction industry, the president of the APA Engineered Wood Association Ed Elias said from Tacoma, Washington state.

“There is a definite upturn, but we’re not reaching one million house starts yet. We’re still a long ways from there; in 2007 house starts were well over two million annually,” he said.

Mr Elias was speaking ahead of a visit to the FRAME Australia event in Melbourne by APA members from Canada and the US. “We have the manufacturing capabilities to keep pace with the housing recovery but shifting the raw material across the country has been seriously hampered by snow and rain,” he said.

APA delegation has a ‘full book’ of appointments “Rail cars are tied down in snow drifts and forest harvesting in many regions is difficult, holding up fibre supply.”

However, Mr Elias said the industry was still confident it would reach a forecast 10% improvement in timber trading over last year, which related to engineered wood products such as panels, i-joists, LVL and glulam.

Mr Elias said he was last in Australia about eight years ago and was sorry he would miss the Melbourne event next month because of strategic planning sessions under way with the APA board.

“The trading and manufacturing climate has certainly shifted over that time,” he said.

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Expertise .. APA is a leader in wood-design testing and research and its research centre is staffed with an experienced corps of engineers, wood scientists, and wood product technicians.

He said the APA delegation had a “full book” of appointments with clients and the timber trade while they were ‘Down Under’, which would include visits to Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.

“Team leader Charles Barnes, our director for international programs, has never visited Brisbane, so he might be in your backyard.”

Meanwhile, North American glulam producers are quietly cultivating a foothold in the Asian market that one day might well pay significant dividends.

Glulam exports totalled less than 5% of North America’s 470 million board feet of production last year, but virtually all of that volume went to Asia.

There are growing numbers of ‘window of opportunity’ projects in Japan, China and Taiwan, and those projects collectively are opening eyes – and doors – in those countries.

The projects are being undertaken under the auspices of the American Softwoods Program, the joint effort of

the APA Engineered Wood Association, the Softwood Export Council, and the Southern Pine Council, with funding support from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

“These projects help us gain access to regulatory bodies, put us in touch with those countries’ design and construction communities, and in many other ways aid in our foreign market development trade servicing goals,” Mr Elias said.

Glulam producers gaining foothold in Asian markets APA has played an active role in revision of the Japanese Agricultural Service (JAS) glulam standard. Of special relevance to North American producers are provisions relating to species equivalency, edge gluing requirements, and the use of LVL tension laminations.

In China, APA has been Cont P 7

INDUSTRY NEWS

North America, Malaysia groups here to meet clients, inspect building sites Sharing product and application knowledge

From P 1

Brisbane and in New Zealand.

The biggest trade contingents will be from Canada, the US and Malaysia, representing the USbased APA Engineered Wood Association and the Malaysian Timber Council.

Key events at FRAME Australia include: • An exhibition supported by the world’s largest prefabrication equipment suppliers from New Zealand, Canada, the US, Germany, the UK, Sweden and Italy.

• A conference studded with Australian and international speakers from Europe, the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand providing overviews on pre-fabricated construction trends.

• The FRAME Australia industry dinner hosted by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia.

• A special EWPAA meeting of board members on May 20 following FRAME. The North American delegation from the APA Engineered Wood Association – a global membership of producers and suppliers of wood products including plywood, OSB, I-joists, glulam and composite wood products – will be led by Charles Barnes, director for international programs.

Speakers providing overview on pre-fab construction trends Speaking from APA headquarters in Tacoma, Washington state, president Ed Elias said the delegation would bring very knowledgeable engineered wood product and structural panel manufacturers plus two key lumber certifiers from the Western Wood

showing a special interest in glulam construction, CLT, house frames and wall panel systems.

American groups look forward to meeting Australian colleagues

FRAME Australia .. international hub for new technologies, equipment and software that are providing greater operating efficiency and levels of automation that reduce costs and improve profitability.

Products Association, based in Portland, Oregon.

“The North American participants look forward to meeting their Australian colleagues at the event and to share product and application information related to two of the most important wooden residential construction markets in the world,” Mr Elias said.

The 15-strong entourage from Malaysia will be headed

by Hamidah Abdullah, senior executive with the Malaysian Timber Council, based in Kuala Lumpur, a self-funded organisation set up by the Malaysian government and supported by the private sector.

The MTC is bringing representatives of the federal Malaysian Public Works Department [responsible for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure]; the Ministry of Housing, which is planning and coordinating mega housing programs in Malaysia and other parts of Asia; and the Malaysian Fire Board; as well as a number of timber engineers, designers and architects.

The group is keen to inspect

housing projects and timber suppliers around Melbourne,

Malaysian timber producers manufacture a number of worldclass raw timbers, value added products and specific timber products on demand. Their products go all over the world and have gained a big market share in EU countries and they are grabbing new business opportunities in Asia, particularly Sri Lanka.

FRAME Australia director Kevin Ezard said the conference Cont P 8

ISSUE 313 | PAGE 3

GOTTSTEIN FELLOWSHIP

Australia can learn from forest fire management in N. America US, Canada share concerns on build-up of fuel loads

AUSTRALIA can learn from management programs in the US and Canada, says Gottstein fellow Mick Stephens.

“We have many similarities to North America despite some variation in the ecology of our forests”, Mr Stephens explained.

“Both regions have similar issues with respect to high fuel loads and adverse future fire conditions, a high urbanforest interface and an increase in the occurrence and area of bushfires over the past decade.”

Mr Stephens used his 2013 Gottstein fellowship to investigate recent changes to the forest fire management approach taken in the region.

Both US and Canada have

Ponderosa pine stand in Arizona .. treated to reduce fire risk.

had bi-partisan support for active management of forest fire prevention through complementary state (provincial) and federal strategies.

Programs target fuel reduction as a major priority

Mick Stephens .. it’s been a winwin for all concerned.

“The United States has implemented active forest fire management programs in response to the devastating fires in the western states, in particular since the early 2000s,” Mr Stephens said.

“These programs have targeted fuel reduction as a major priority via a combination of prescribed burning and mechanical thinning, with many benefits being achieved.”

By removing excess trees, undergrowth and fine fuels, these benefits have included more fire-resilient ecological conditions, improved habitat, job creation and the commercial use of excess biomass.

Where these programs are implemented the forests are healthier and less prone

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to extreme fires with lower associated carbon emissions.

“It’s been a win-win for all concerned,” Mr Stephens observed.

“The US Forest Service has embarked on a $400 million program to undertake forest restoration and fuel reduction across 23 forest landscapes over a 10-year period,” he said.

“In addition to reducing bushfire risk, the program is supporting regional development by using the material as a source of supply for bioenergy and other wood products industries. The sale of this material also helps offset the costs of the treatment.”

Mr Stephens said if the collaborative approach between policy makers, forest fire managers and the forest and wood products industry taken in North America could be replicated in Australia, the risk and severity of future bushfires in this country could be reduced.

“I would encourage a trial program in selected casestudy areas to see how parts of Australia could also benefit from such a program,” he said.

“It should then be possible to extend it to a broader national program for long-term severe bushfire mitigation.”

Mr Stephens thanked the Gottstein Trust, his employer the Australian Forest Products Association [he is AFPA’s strategic policy manager] and colleagues in the US and Canada for enabling him to undertake the project.

“Having these opportunities Cont P 6

2014 AROUND THE CIRCUIT MAY 2014

19: Frame Australia 2014 conference and exhibition.

In conjunction with the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia.

Venue: Park Hyatt Melbourne.

The conference theme is pre-fabricated timber and wood products in residential and commercial construction, including trends to using timber panels for buildings up to 5 and 10 storeys high. International speakers will provide global updates on equipment technologies and construction trends for timber frame and truss and wood panel systems in building. The exhibition display comprises 23 exhibitors from Europe, North America and Australia. For more information visit www.frameaustralia.com

JUNE

11-12: Wood Flow Logistics 2014 – Rotorua, NZ. 17-18: Melbourne (www.woodflowlogistics.com).

This series will add a number of components from the steep slope wood harvesting event and will provide a practical update on innovations, strategies and technologies used by leading forest products companies to improve their planning, logistics and operations within the wood supply chain – from forest through to market.

AUGUST 2014

5-6: MobileTECH 2014: Primary Industries Future.

Brisbane.

12-13: Auckland, NZ (www.mobiletech2014.com).

These events will profile the latest mobile tools, technologies and innovations driving the future of primary industries (farming, horticulture, forestry, dairy, meat, wool, fisheries and mining). MobileTECH 2014 will showcase a wide range of mobile technologies and innovations, including smartphones, tablets, mobile apps, satellite mapping and communications, robotics, aerial drones, remote sensors, electronic tagging, intelligent data, M2M, real-time analytics and cloud-based platforms.

6-9: AWISA 2014 exhibition.

Brisbane Convention and exhibition Centre. Displays of panel processing, solid wood and timber machinery, tooling, manufacturing software, plus ancillary products such as dust extraction and materials handling equipment.

Opportunity forn the cabinet, kitchen, furniture, joinery, timber, fit-out and panel industries to inspect new equipment.

Inquiries about booking space: email info@awisa.com or call Geoff Holland. Tel: (02) 9918 3661. Fax: (02) 9918 7764.

Mob: 0412 361 580.

Email: info@awisa.com 7-8: DANA conference, Melbourne.

The Australian forestry and forest products sector: its situation in 2014 and trends going forward. Bayview Eden Hotel, Melbourne. Speakers: Gavin Hoe, RISI China; Oliver Lansdell, global pulp specialist; Rodrigo Monreal, solid wood products chief of Arauco, Chile;

Matthew Wood, CEO Stora Enso Australia; Russ Taylor, president of WOODMarkets; Peter Barynin, lead economist with Boston USA- based RISI; Peter Zed (Australian sawmilling sector); Simon Dories, general manager, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia; Ross Hampton, CEO, Forest and Wood Products Australia; Steve Whitley, CEO, Forestry Tasmania. Conference includes panel of overseas plantation investors. Contact Pamela Richards at pam@prcc. com.au or visit www.dana.co.nz

11-12: DANA conference, Rotorua, NZ. The New Zealand forestry and forest products sector: its situation in 2014 and trends going forward. Novotel Rotorua Hotel, Rotorua. Web: www.prcc.com.au/ danamelbourne2014.

Conference consultant: Pam Richards 61 3 5781 0069.

Email: pam@prcc.com.au

SEPTEMBER

17-18: Wood Innovations 2014: Timber Preservation – Wood Modification – Composite Products – Rotorua, NZ. 23-24: Melbourne. (www.woodinnovations2014. com). Changes in new wood treatment formulations, processes and systems, standards, legislation with the focus also on wood plastic composites and modified wood products.

19-20: ForestTECH 2014.

Rotorua, NZ. 25-26: Melbourne. (www. foresttech2014.com). Remote sensing, field Inventory, forest estate planning.

INDUSTRY NEWS

THE AUSTRALIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION The lead voice in Canberra on policy affecting forest, wood and paper products industries.

AFPA strives to deliver benefits for the complete industry value chain including those involved in: • Forest growing • Harvest and haulage • Sawmilling and other wood processing • Pulp and paper processing • Forest product exporting

Join us today and share the benefits Call (02) 6285 3833

ISSUE 313 | PAGE 5

INDUSTRY NEWS

Liberal government bases forest strategy on science

LARGE swathes of protected forests will be opened up to logging by the new Tasmanian Liberal government.

Legislation will be introduced to parliament next month to repeal the Tasmanian Forest Agreement and set aside 400,000 ha of forest reserves for future harvesting.

Resources Minister Paul Harriss insists the pre-election promise to rip up the forest peace deal will grow the industry.

He said he would start working with industry to create a new forest strategy based on science.

“This is an elegant solution to growing this important industry while importantly protecting our markets and continuing the achievement of FSC certification,” Mr Harris said.

“None of the almost $400 million in government funding attached to the forest peace deal will have to be repaid.

Fears that state government is rushing its policy “We have no control over what’s been spent. What we do have control over is what we’re doing into the future.”

The Tasmanian Forest Agreement had protected half

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Paul Harriss

William Hodgman

a million hectares of forest from logging in return for millions of dollars in assistance to the struggling timber industry.

More than 120,000 ha was added to the World Heritage list last year, but the federal government is trying to reverse protection for 74,000 ha.

The Tasmanian government now wants to open up the remaining trees, some 400,000 ha, to logging.

The Forest Industries Association fears the state government is rushing its forest policy, according to an ABC News report.

Chief executive Terry Edwards has not commented on the ramifications of the proposed changes, saying he needed to see more detail.

The association is one of the

Terry Edwards

main industry signatories to the forest peace deal.

Cabinet has signed off on a plan to impose a six-year freeze while state-owned Forestry Tasmania attempts to secure FSC certification.

Tasmanian Greens leader Kim Booth says taking forests out of protection will cripple the industry by undermining its reputation in overseas markets.

Paul Harris continues to dispute claims certification of the state’s forests could be jeopardised if the

Kim Booth

peace deal is repealed.

Chief FSC auditor Robert Rubes says that could affect the status of any certified forests.

Forestry Tasmania is working towards securing environmental certification for a total of 900,000 ha.

Mr Hrubes says the organisation’s bid for certification could be jeopardised if it logs an area of forest that was tied with deal.

Cont P 7

Fire management in US, Canada

From P 4

to investigate in detail how other regions have tackled this problem will hopefully prevent Australia from re-inventing the wheel in this area,” he said.

Mr Stephen’s full report can be accessed on www. gottsteintrust.org/html/reports The Gottstein Trust calls for fellowship applications each year in September.

Premier talks up timber on visit to Japan From P 7

Paul Harriss says the government is working closely with Forestry Tasmania and has guaranteed that the certification will not be jeopardised.

Meanwhile, the Opposition has set the Premier a goal of selling uncertified timber products on his trade trip to China and Japan.

Will Hodgman has joined the largest delegation of Australian political and business leaders ever to travel to Asia on a trade mission. He was in China with Prime Minister Tony Abbott before travelling on to Japan.

Mr Hodgman says talking up agriculture and timber is the priority.

“We will also be talking up the capacity to bring in more tourists and international students,” he said.

Bryan Green has offered Mr Hodgman his definition of what would constitute a successful mission.

“Well he would have to come back with market access for timber products without FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification into Japan,” he said.

He claims Asian buyers are wary of Tasmanian timber because of the Liberals’ intention to rip up the peace deal.

Mr Hodgman says he will be telling potential investors his government will be easier to deal with than its predecessor.

“This is a very rare opportunity for the Premier of a new government to send a clear message that we are open for business,” he said.

“The last time I went with Bryan Green we had a problem because the Japanese customers were well aware that two cabinet ministers in Mr Green’s own government were actively scaring away investors.”

Environmentalists have labelled the government naive as it takes the first steps to dismantle the deal, which some say will revive the state’s bitter forest wars.

INDUSTRY NEWS

APA plays active role in Japan standard From P 2

involved with the publication of a timber structures design code, development of a Chinese building fire code and preparation of a glulam manufacturing standard.

“By helping to create demand for wood products abroad, whether for North American products or those of other countries, we help protect our own domestic marketplace from becoming the target of choice,” Mr Elias said.

“North America is an attractive market to foreign suppliers. If we give up on offshore markets, we could find ourselves all the more quickly fighting a pitched

Ed Elias .. manufacturing capabilities set to keep pace with US housing recovery.

battle to defend domestic market share against foreign

competitors.

“Secondly, global circumstances can change, and we ought not to close the door to future possibilities.”

APA was founded in 1933 as the Douglas Fir Plywood Association and in 1964 changed its name to American Plywood Association (APA) to reflect the national scope of its growing membership.

The name was changed again in 1994 to APA – The Engineered Wood Association to better reflect the broadening product mix and geographic range of its membership. The acronym ‘APA’ was retained because it was so widely known and respected in the marketplace.

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ISSUE 313 | PAGE 7

INDUSTRY NEWS

NZ sawmillers to endure more pain as exporter margins shrink

NEW Zealand timber companies, which have closed more than 40 sawmills in the past decade, are likely to face more pain as plants tied to the export trade face lower-cost Chinese mills, rising competition and a high kiwi dollar shrinking margins.

Sawmills supplying timber to the NZ market, including Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts (NZ) and Red Stag Timber are benefiting from a revival in housing construction in Auckland and Christchurch, but the outlook for exporters remains shaky, according to Rotorua-based forestry consultancy DANA. “The sawmilling industry is still not out of the woods,” DANA director Dennis Neilson told Media Scoop.

“The New Zealand domestic

market seems to be going quite well. Where the struggle continues to be is where mills are focused on exports.”

The environment is improving for sawmills selling product into New Zealand as consents for new dwellings accelerated at a 21,300 annual pace last year from 29,900 a decade ago and a low of 13,700 in 2011, according to Statistics New Zealand.

While an expanding Chinese economy has driven a surge in the volume and price of NZ raw log exports, local mills haven’t been able to compete with more efficient, low-cost Chinese sawmills that cut up logs for temporary construction lumber. Instead, these firms are competing with Chile to supply higher-value kiln dried wood to meet increased demand for furniture.

Signs are emerging that demand may soften in China as inventory starts to build up on Chinese log ports over the past few months and credit availability tightens amid uncertainty about financial stability and bond defaults, Dennis Neilson said.

The weaker sawmilling industry would be hit harder by falling prices than log exporters who have enjoyed robust returns in recent years.

New Zealand’s exportfocused sawmills are also facing weak demand and increased rivalry in other markets as a result of soft housing construction in the US, where New Zealand supplies decorative mouldings, and a depressed housing market and increased rivalry in Australia.

NZ production of sawn timber

has dropped 11% to an annual 3.97 million cub m in the past decade, according to figures from the Ministry for Primary Industries.

New Zealand’s sawmill industry is facing increasing competition for logs because of the “insatiable demand” and higher prices from export markets, especially China, DANA says. New Zealand overtook Russia as the largest exporter of logs to China last year.

“The recent significant increase of New Zealand’s log exports to China has had relatively little impact on the demand for our lumber in that market, but has had the reverse impact by raising sawlog input prices for NZ mills trying to not only compete in that market, but others also.”

Close discussions on CLT panelling systems From P 3

Being a TABMA member gives you: • Group buying discounts • Assistance with the placement of trainees & apprentices • CoC certification advice • Industry specific staff recruitment at competitive rates • National networking opportunities • An exclusive trade credit insurance plan • Technical advice and assistance • Industrial relations advice • WH&S audits • Annual Timber Industry Dinner Call 1800 822 621 for membership enquiries PAGE 8

| ISSUE 313

session on truss and frame manufacturing plants would include speakers on new technologies, equipment and software for greater operating efficiency and levels of automation that reduce costs and improve profitability.

“The speakers program also reveals future directions in building with two sessions on construction and why builders are demanding a change from traditional building methods and are now embracing timber panels and engineered wood as their long-term preference for residential and commercial buildings,” Mr Ezard said.

Mr Ezard anticipates close discussion on CLT panel systems that are transforming even low-grade woods into panels capable of supporting

massive loads.

These are turning wood into a building material with greater tensile strength than steel and more resistance to compression than concrete New-age architects and timber designers are saying they want to make buildings like car companies make cars, or computer companies make computers, using an industrial process and a systems approach.

“To get good performance out of buildings, you can’t keep making them chaotically piece by piece on site, cutting things in the rain,” they say. “You need to design them right and have a step-by-step organised process.”

• See ‘prefab solutions for the future’ Pages 11 and 12.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Kate Carnell set to inspire at industry networking dinner

THE newly-appointed CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kate Carnell AO will reflect on the attributes, attitudes and actions required for career success at a forest and timber industry networking function in Brisbane next month.

Ms Carnell, who is current chair of Australian Forestry Standard Ltd, is an inspirational figure who has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in roles as varied as CEO of Beyondblue (current), chief minister of the ACT; CEO, Australian Food and Grocery Council; CEO, National Association of Forest Industries; and chair of the Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry.

Organised by the Women in Forest and Timber Network, the ‘Inspiration for Success’ cocktail party on May 22 is relevant for both men and women as an unrivalled opportunity to gain exposure to someone who has not only had great personal success but is now at the coalface of promoting a world class environment for doing business in Australia.

Alicia Oelkers, TABMA Australia’s Queensland manager, said she would be attending the event and encouraged others to attend.

“I heard Ms Carnell speak last year and was so impressed, I’m really looking forward to hearing about the approach she has taken to managing her incredibly successful career,” Alicia said.

“A little inspiration can make a big difference to the way you approach work – and it’s always nice to have some fun with friends and colleagues from across our industry.”

The cocktail function sponsored by Prime Super and Healthcare Insurance will be held at Moda Events, Portside Brisbane, on Thursday, May

Timber & Forestry e-news is the most authoritative and uickest deliverer of news and special features to the forest and forest products industries in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. Weekly distribution is over copies, delivered every Monday. Advertising rates are the most competitive of any industry magazine in the region. Timber&Forestry e-news hits your target market – every week, every Monday

Kate Carnell .. guidance on career success.

22 from 6 to 8 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www. timberqueensland.com.au/ events Executive chairman of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Peter Hood said Ms Carnell’s appointment followed a comprehensive recruitment process.

“Kate’s first-hand small business background, toplevel political leadership and industry association skills will be instrumental to ACCI’s advocacy as the voice of Australian business,” he said.

Kate Carnell was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006 for her services to the community.

Jeff Kennett, the chairman of Beyondblue, said Ms Carnell had resigned her position to take up her new role.

“Kate leaves Beyondblue in a much stronger position than when she was appointed CEO, and she has helped develop a solid strategic direction for the organisation,” Mr Kennett said.

Ms Carnell said it was great that ACCI already had a strong relationship with Beyondblue; she hoped to continue creating mentally healthy workplaces in her new role.

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ISSUE 313 | PAGE 9

HOUSING TRENDS

Housing finance data builds confidence in market upturn

Value of lending to investors increases for new dwellings LATEST home lending statistics remain positive and show that confidence in the residential building recovery remains strong, according to two peak industry organiations.

“The latest data released by the ABS records a 2.3% rise, seasonally adjusted in February 2014,” Master Builders CEO Wilhelm Harnisch said.

“While the total numbers given on lending for new housing were not as strong at just under 1% seasonally adjusted, the trend remains positive with a 20% increase over the year,” Mr Harnisch said.

“This level of home lending augurs well for the residential building recovery and will be reflected in the forthcoming GDP data and more importantly in increased employment as the building industry hires more people during the building phase.

“The flattening of lending for existing homes shows some easing and should help to ameliorate house prices.”

Housing Industry Association economist Diwa Hopkins said the owner-occupier segment of new home lending was

months to February 2014, the value of this form of finance increased by 13.2%.

“The latest housing finance results augur well for muchneeded further growth in new home building. A sustained increase in new home building activity which provides Australia with an appropriate supply of housing is a necessary condition for addressing the persistent problems around housing affordability,” Ms Hopkins said.

Recovery builds .. home lending reflects cofidence in building sector.

showing encouraging signs.

“Following a strong result in January, the number of owner occupier loans for the construction of new dwellings increased again in February by 0.8%t. Over the three months to February the rise was 7.2 %,” Ms Hopkins said.

“This strong growth in housing finance is consistent with other leading indicators of the residential construction sector, including dwelling approvals and new home sales.”

In February, while the number of owner occupier

loans for the construction of new dwellings increased, loans for the purchase of new dwellings declined by 5%. As a result the total number of new home loans to owner occupiers eased by 1% during the month. Over the three months to February 2014 new home lending to owner occupiers still increased by 2.7% to a level that is 15.4% higher than 12 months previously.

Another strong result was the value of lending to investors for the purpose of constructing new dwellings for rent or resale. In the three

Results augur well for further growth in new home building Master Builders chief economist Peter Jones says the industry is seeing through the expected monthly volatility and remains cautiously optimistic about the strengthening upswing in residential building.

“It is important that building approvals continue to strengthen in coming months to exert downward pressure on house prices by overcoming the undersupply of housing,” he said.

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Engineered Timber Products

ENGINEERED WOOD

Prefab solutions for the future

Largest gathering of international equipment suppliers preparing exhibits for FRAME 2014 THE 2014 Frame Australia conference and exhibition in May will have the largest gathering of international equipment suppliers servicing the timber frame pre-fabrication industry in the 16 years of the event.

Of particular interest to timber suppliers and prefabrication plants will be the latest technologies in manufacturing equipment for prefabrication of timber wall frames and panels, which have been developed to meet increasing demand for off-site components to reduce labour on-site.

Builders on a global basis are moving away from all labourintensive activities for greater efficiency in construction and improved financial returns, which is now under way in

Ready for FRAME 2014 .. Betz multi-function bridge in action.

Australia for a wide range of building products including timber framing.

This trend is supported by the international development of production equipment to meet these new requirements with higher productivity and automation to reduce the

amount of labour required in the prefabrication plant.

This provides more valueadding by the prefabrication plant in manufacturing panelised and cassette systems that are sent to site as a complete assembly ready for craning into place.

Many of the equipment suppliers also offer levels of automation to existing plants that significantly improves output levels and reduces production costs, from low cost entry to full automation in manufacturing.

Leaders of the world’s largest pre-fabrication equipment suppliers will be wellrepresented at Frame Australia to be staged at the Park Hyatt Melbourne on Monday, May 19.

Major sponsor Homag Australia provides world leading Weinmann (Germany) modern, high-performance machines, production lines and systems for the construction of prefabricated timber buildings, with solutions for utilising computer-controlled, automated machinery with a Cont P 12

Make the right move Don’t risk it.

Specify EWPAA products stamped with the approved certification.

ISSUE 313 | PAGE 11

ENGINEERED WOOD

Offsite manufacture and timber frame panels growing globally in popularity

From P 11

range of CAD/CAM-interfacing controls.

Another major sponsor, Hundegger Australasia (Aust / Germany), seeks innovation in timber engineering to develop state of the art solutions in processing all types of frame and truss components, including cutting saws, panel processing and CNC machines, with the technology and a solution to suit all customer requirements.

Other equipment suppliers include Airco / Senco Fasteners (Aust), Australian Framing Automation (Aust), Bliss & Reels (Aust), J J Smith & Co Woodworking Machinery (UK), LAP Laser (Germany), Mohringer (Germany) and Randek (Sweden).

The international keynote speaker in a session on truss and frame manufacturing

PAGE 12 | ISSUE 313

Developed to meet demand .. prefabricated timber wall frames and panels.

plants will be Hansbert Ott, managing director of Weinmann in Germany, who will deliver a presentation on developments in manufacturing technologies and equipment for timber processing and prefabrication of roof truss and wall frames, with examples of typical plant installations utilising the

technologies and productivity improvements achieved.

Hansbert Ott said: “There is increasing appreciation of the added-value and quick-build benefits of closed frame and the fact that, as they’re finished with much more precision in a controlled environment, they’re less likely to have quality issues

than site-finished.”

Mr Ott’s prediction is that the construction market worldwide will continue to head Weinmann’s way, with offsite manufacture and timber frame panels inevitably becoming more popular.

Another well-known international speaker Walter Fahrenschon, CEO, Hundegger GmbH, Germany, will address the conference on future options for plants to manufacture open or closed panels for housing and multi-res developments.

Attendees at Frame 2014 will represent the complete supply chain of structural timber, engineered wood products and pre-fabricated frames and panels for the detached housing and multi-residential dwelling markets.

Visit www.frameaustralia. com and save with early bird registration by April 17.

Steve Hunt was revered engineer in timber design “WE were going to meet in Brisbane last Wednesday and talk about the design of a big glulam structure for the World Expo in Milan next year. Steve didn’t make it; his unexpected and tragic death is such a great loss to the timber industry.”

John Muller, foundation chairman of the Glulam Laminated Timber Association of Australia, was talking about his friend Steve Hunt, a wellknown and revered timber engineer who died from a heart attack on the Sunshine Coast on April 4, aged 62.

“He was truly a wonderful timber engineer and wrote what I believe to be the best design software on the market,” Mr Muller said.

“I had known Steve for many years and he was going to be in Brisbane to advise on the construction of the Malaysian government’s pavilion at the Milan expo in Italy, a project won by a client and glulam manufacturer in Malaysia.”

Designer of many structural timber software programs Mr Hunt’s HR Design Group is an offshoot of Hunt Robinson Pty Ltd, which was established in 1989 by Mr Hunt and Darryl Robinson, both professional engineers with vast experience in timber engineering design.

The company was originally created as a vehicle to support the timber industry with

OBITUARY

structural engineering data, including software development.

Mr Hunt purchased Darryl Robinson’s share in 1993 when his partner decided to take over the Gold Coast portion of the business and concentrate on truss industry support. During that time, and since, Hunt Robinson has expanded its support to not just the timber industry but to general structural engineering design for a wide client base from Brisbane to north Queensland.

Mr Hunt’s services have included such diverse applications as pedestrian bridges in Malaysia and birdwatching platforms in Japan. He has special service support ties to glulam timber manufacturers throughout Australia, was a member of GLTAA’s technical advisory committee and sat on the committee for the structural timber code TM-001.

Professional colleague Colin MacKenzie, timber application and use manager at Timber Queensland, said Steve Hunt was a dedicated and committed timber engineer. His services were highly valued by TQ member companies who used his consultancy services.

“He was the main designer of many structural software programs for these companies and was responsible for many of the portal frame buildings built over recent years.

Mr Hunt is survived by his wife Jeanette, son Bradley and daughter Joanne.

– JIM BOWDEN

$2.5m towards forest innovation centre SCION and Bay of Plenty Regional Council have signed an agreement to build an innovation centre at Scion’s Te Papa Tipu Innovation Park in Rotorua.

Scion was allocated up to $2.5 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund towards the construction of an innovation hub for forestry and wood processing-related businesses.

ISSUE 313 | PAGE 13

INDUSTRY NEWS

Australian Chile study mission flags forest research exchange Visit strengthens timber trade relationships

CONFIRMING that the Chilean forest industry has established itself as the outstanding performer in the Asia-Pacific region was the overwhelming conclusion of an Australian study tour undertaken in early April.

“There is little doubt that Chile is the stand-out market leader in the southern hemisphere in relation to the production of innovative, exceptionally well regarded softwoodbased timber products,” said tour participant and general manager of the Australian Timber Importers Federation John Halkett.

Led by Arauco’s Australian general manager Robert Busch and supported by ProChile, tour participants inspected plantation management and wood processing operations in the Concepción region of southern Chile. Presentations were made to forest and timber sector senior representatives in Santiago, to the Chilean forest research agency INFOR, and to Bioforest, Arauco’s scientific and technological research centre.

Arauco exporting wood products to over 75 countries Inspections of Arauco’s nursery, forestry, sawmilling, pulp, board, plywood and millwork remanufacturing facilities confirmed Arauco’s position as South America’s forestry powerhouse and one of the world’s most respected forestry companies.

Presentations and discussions covered aspects of timber trade with Australia; marketing opportunities; product innovation and research; and development directed at collaborative

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Building relationships in Santiago .. Ric Sinclair, managing director, Forest and Wood Products Australia, Robert Busch, general manager, Arauco Australia, Carmen Gloria, Cerda, product manager, ProChile, and John Halkett, general manager, Australian Timber Importers Federation.

research and development potential.

“It is apparent that the Chilean timber industry has an optimistic and progressive attitude with the uptake of leading technologies in primary wood processing and remanufacturing, as evidenced by the $183 million rebuilt of a plywood mill destroyed by fire and by world-scale, advanced remanufacturing, preservative treatment and pre-coating facilities,” John Halkett said.

With predictions of Australian

housing starts moving rapidly towards 200,000 a year, Chile is likely to play an increasingly vital role in supplying plywood, panels and a wide range of laminated, finger-jointed, treated, pre-coated timber products into the Australian supply chain.

“As far as I am aware, most Chilean timber products are compliant with requisite Australian building code standards and with other requirements, such as, in the case of plywood and MDF,

Close inspection .. Australian study tour participants check out wood processing at one of Arauco’s 38 wood processing facilities in southern Chile

‘sformaldehyde emissions levels,” Mr Halkett said “Timber products are also PEFC and increasingly FSC certified.”

Mr Halkett said Australia importers were keen to continue to build strengthened relationships with Chilean suppliers and their supporting organisations, such as ProChile.

“Chilean structural and decorative timber product imports to Australia now surpass traditional competitors and have the comfort of firmly established fit-for-purpose credentials,” Mr Halkett said.

Uptake of leading technologies in wood processing “Their price competitiveness relative to other comparable imported and domesticallyproduced products is a strong feature of the Chilean timber supply available in the Australian market.”

As a world-class softwood plantation-based company, Arauco is making a significant impact on timber product markets and exports to more than 75 countries, including Australia.

Arauco sources its logs from 1.7 million ha of its own softwood plantations located throughout Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Robert Busch says Arauco over the past 45 years has evolved into one of the leading global forestry companies noted for the size and health of its plantations and the quality of its products and also for its technical innovation, environmental responsibility and social commitment.

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

Canadian technology, forests .. and the flight of the drones Eyes in the sky help plan tree replanting process

WHEN Libyan rebels marched on Tripoli in 2011, a Canadian drone led the way.

The unmanned aircraft, a product of a company called Aeryon Labs based in Waterloo, Ontario, sliced slowly over the landscape, mapping the terrain and sending valuable tactical information to the soldiers.

Six months later, a similar scene played out in perhaps the polar opposite setting, as an Aeryon craft hummed across the Bering Sea, relaying ice conditions ahead of a Russian tanker dispatched to deliver vital fuel to the town of Nome, Alaska, which had been caught off guard by an early winter.

Quietly – and overshadowed by the technology’s much more welldocumented and controversial military uses – the commercial drone industry is booming.

Across the globe, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being used for real-time mapping, forest and crop monitoring and in myriad other capacities. And as American regulators struggle to come up with a rulebook for the fast-moving industry, Canada has emerged as perhaps the centre of commercial drone technology – from Ontario farmlands to British Columbia forests.

Scientists say the technology is far enough advanced that it can be used to make forest replanting more efficient.

Preparing to launch .. the global economic potential of drones is astounding; a recent study estimated the worldwide market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at $US89 billion in 2013.

densely, and precisely where.

Because all the facts about the terrain and soil conditions are included, it is possible to achieve the optimal plant density. For example, a 3 m clear strip can be left along a stone wall, 2500 plants per hectare can be put on a fertile slope and 1400 plants per hectare can be used in an area of thin soil.

“We’re in that really interesting time where this is pivoting to the mainstream market,” says Ian McDonald, vice-president of product and marketing at Aeryon Labs. “The uses are extremely broad.”

In December of last year, online retailing giant Amazon. com Inc. gave the commercial drone industry a marketing push, announcing it aims to one day deliver packages to customers

in 30 minutes using unmanned aircraft. But the announcement – timed to make a media splash around the busiest shopping period of the year – is somewhat premature, given that the company won’t be able to legally fly such drones until 2015 at the earliest.

But a regulatory quirk has given the Canadian consumer drone industry a multi-year head start on its American counterpart.

In the US, unmanned craft can only be used in a non-commercial capacity – for example, by law enforcement agencies, search and rescue teams and border patrol agents. And although some people may regularly flout that restriction, civilian drone usage is unlikely to become a widespread phenomenon in the US for another half-

Hovering drones make for efficient forest replanting This involves combining GPS technology with a remoteoperated flying drone, which photographs a new clear-cut area.

The image is then interpreted on a computer, making it possible to plan the replanting process in detail: to decide exactly how many plants can be planted, how

A bird or a plane? Drones have already proven themselves capable forest scanners, sheep herders, delivery boys, tour guides, filmmakers, archaeologists, and – possibly – spies.

decade, well after the Federal Aviation Administration produce guidelines for commercial unmanned aircraft.

“Four to five years is not a bad estimate,” says Mike Winn, co-founder of San Francisco start-up DroneDeploy, which builds software and hardware for managing multiple drones.

“It’s not just tech challenges to overcome, there are also regulatory hurdles.”

In Canada, such regulation already exists. Any person or

Canadian program declares drones are clear to fly company looking to operate UAVs for commercial purposes can do so by filling out a special flight operations certificate.

The program, run by Transport Canada, requires operators to list the times, dates and areas in which their drones will fly. It also contains rules relating to line-ofsight and buffer distances over populated areas, among other safety guidelines. Once Transport Canada approves an application, the drone is clear to fly.

Canadian companies are starting to take advantage of the country’s relative regulatory clarity. “There’s been a lot of stuff going on relatively quietly up in Canada,” says Ernest Earon, CEO of Precision Hawk, a Torontobased company that designs drone-based data collection and analysis tools.

Many of the company’s customers are Canadian farmers, who use the technology to check on the health of their crops.

Unmanned craft, he notes, can also be used to collect water samples, monitor the impact of greenhouse-gas emissions in the far North and check on the health of the boreal forest.

— The Globe and Mail

ISSUE 313 | PAGE 15

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

‘Plyscrapers’ set to transform apartment buildings in US cities $2m USDA contest promotes use of CLT panels

WOODEN skyscrapers could soon become commonplace in American cities thanks to a $2 million US Department of Agriculture contest.

The department has launched the competition to find a way of demonstrating the best method for using sustainable wood products in high-rise construction.

The USDA reckons that wood is actually one of the most advanced materials that can be used for building and, if sustainably forested, could prove a great way of producing environmentally-friendly buildings while also creating employment.

Although there are doubtless plenty of iron workers and cement pourers who would be quick to point out that they’d be the losers in any move towards a more timber-based tall building strategy. Conversely, a swathe of lumberjacks and a variety of skilled carpenters would probably leap at the idea.

‘Challenge for us is to catch up and we’re doing that’ The buildings will use specially developed super strong wooden panels that could also be used to create emergency housing and shelters.

Several test ‘plyscrapers’ have already been built.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels incorporate up to 10 layers of inch-thick wood planks, with the grains oriented at right angles to each other, that can transform even low-grade woods like spruce into panels capable of supporting massive loads.

They can turn wood into building material with greater tensile strength than steel and more resistance to compression than concrete The American government

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Building tall .. could a high-rise timber construction realistically be built? The US Department of Agriculture believes it can.

wants to spend a substantial amount of money to help promote the appeal of wooden skyscrapers. In a move that has probably left many architects and engineers feeling dumbfounded, The USDA believes that a fourstorey building made from mass timber would cut emissions to a degree similar to taking 500 cars off the road for a year.

The department is also expected to fund at least one demonstration project to try and catch up with projects in other countries.

“The challenge for us is to catch up and we’re going to do that,” says Tom Vilsack, America’s secretary of agriculture.

He hopes the technique could

be used for a range of buildings.

“Cross-laminated timber can be used for emergency shelters, to quickly rebuild communities after hurricanes or floods, and by the Department of Defence to rebuild barracks,” Vilsack said.

“There’s even infrastructure that could be built with this.”

The first project began several years ago when Michael Green, a Canadian architect, proposed 20-storey (60-metre) structures made from CLT panels.

The recent completion of an eight-storey wooden office block in Austria and a nine-storey residential block in London shows how the ‘plyscraper’ is fast becoming a reality.

The LCT One building in

The green appeal is perhaps one of the main driving forces behind a USDA move to promote multi-storey wooden buldings. It says a 3-5 storey building made from emerging wood technologies has the same emissions control as taking up to 550 cars of the road for one year.

Dornbirn, Austria, is a ‘hybrid’ building made from both wood and concrete and designed by Austrian architectural firm Cree.

Assembled from solid panels made off-site from layers of wood and other materials, the high-tech building has a central concrete core housing its lifts and utilities.

From a concrete foundation, vertical posts of glue-laminated wood support hybrid floor panels made from more glulam beams embedded in reinforced concrete.

Made from sticking together smaller pieces of wood to create structural elements with a greater tensile than steel, glulam can resist compression better than concrete – but it weighs much less and is more sustainable.

‘We want to make buildings like they make cars’ Cree claims that prefabricating the glulam elements of the building off-site cuts construction time by half, guarantees quality and slashes the buildings carbon footprint.

British architects Waugh Thistleton calculated that they avoided producing nearly 125 tonnes of carbon dioxide in building what is so far the world’s tallest modern timber structure, the nine-storey Stadthaus building.

The building, in Hackney, East London, uses even less concrete than Cree’s system, with loadbearing wall and floor slabs as well as stair and lift cores built entirely from cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels.

Concrete emits nearly its own weight in carbon dioxide as it’s produced; the raw material for wooden skyscrapers, by contrast, literally grows on trees and absorbs carbon from the air as it does so.

ON THE ROAD

No secret: Trax has everything drivers want in a smaller SUV

Holden technology offers widest range of apps “LET’S make tracks for Secrets On the Lake pleaded our young female passenger as we peeked over the brow of a steep street in Montville above the Sunshine Coast, just an hour’s drive from Brisbane.

Secrets is a dream destination and a timber lover’s paradise – from the whimsical carvings along the rainforest board walks to crafted red cedar fittings throughout the main lobby and restaurant.

But the ‘lake’ is actually Baroon Pocket Dam, although stocked species including bass, golden perch and Mary River Cod are still caught across its 400 ha surface.

Whether Holden or a Chevrolet, they got it right!

But then the ‘velvet red’ Holden Trax LTZ we took to Secrets isn’t really a Holden – it’s a Chevrolet crossover SUV manufactured under that brand since 2013 and marketed as the Holden Trax in Australia.

“What’s in a name?” we chorused with the jolly maitre-d’.

When Holden released the Trax last year, they said it offered best-in-class technology, standout styling and outstanding fuel economy.

Whether a Holden or a Chev, they got it right!

Growing Holden’s SUV line up to four models, Trax offers two trim levels, the LS and LTZ, ranging in price from $23,490 to $27,990.

Every Trax model features as standard a 7 in. touchscreen with MyLink embedded apps, rear view camera, rear parking sensors, six airbags and Bluetooth phone and audio streaming.

Trax features the same fuel efficient 1.8 litre DOHC 16-valve

Holden Trax LTZ .. at home on Australia’s challenging roads.

4-cylinder petrol engine as the Holden Cruze and is paired with a five-speed manual transmission (LS only) to deliver fuel economy of just 7L per 100 km.

Holden’s six-speed automatic transmission with active select is standard on the LTZ and available as an option on the LS, delivering very competitive fuel consumption of 7.6L/100 km.

Trax offers everything drivers are looking for in a small SUV, from multiple seating configurations to advanced technology features. It is the only vehicle in the class to include a 240V electrical socket in the rear of the centre console to charge items like

Timber craft .. detailed carving on the balcony at Secrets on the Lake.

laptops while on the road. And Holden’s MyLink system offers access to the widest range of apps available in an Australian vehicle, including ‘BringGo’, an exceptional low-cost navigation option with functions that

Inside Trax .. multiple seating configurations and advanced technology features.

include Google places search.

The LS features 16 in. alloy wheels, leather steering wheel with audio controls, cruise control and auto headlamps, while the LTZ adds 18 in. alloy wheels, Sportec seats, heated front seats, fog lamps, underpassenger seat storage tray and trip computer.

Rear seats are surprisingly roomy. They’re a little upright, but head and legroom are very generous and there’s even space for big feet under the front seats.

Shoulder-room is at a premium. Three across the back will be a tight squeeze on short runs, but for long hauls best to keep it two people if possible.

The Trax LTZ is offered standard with the six-speed automatic transmission for a retail price of $27,990.

All engine and transmission calibrations for Holden Trax were completed locally by the engineering team at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground.

Additionally, a local suspension tune and electric power steering calibration ensures Holden Trax is at home on Australia’s challenging roads.

Recommended retail prices, excluding dealer delivery and government charges, are Trax LS manual $23,490; Tax LS automatic $25,690; and Trax LTZ (auto only) $27,990.

ISSUE 313 | PAGE 17

297x210mm Vertical 254x93mm Horizontal 125x190mm Vertical 125x93mm Horizontal 73x190mm Horizontal 73x190mm Vertical 140x44.5mm 110 Vertical 34x44.5mm

297x210mm Vertical 254x93mm Horizontal 125x190mm Vertical 125x93mm Horizontal 51x93mm

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